thanks .yes the cavalier key in the console box was really annoying .having to turn on the fiero key and then reaching behind your back to start the engine sucked .but that was only the first summer , and it was great to get the car running .

quote Originally posted by wftb: i got tired of trying to stuff everything under the old fiero centre glovebox so i built a new housing.gives me a place to mount the boost controller and boost guage .

Now, you just need to get a red back-light for that gauge, and make your car say, "Good Morning Dave" when you turn it on :P [/off-topic humor]

that is my old console that a friend of mine called "red neckish ".it looked terrible but i was in a hurry when i built it .

got some paint on the centre console :


AEM guage type boost controller and new voltmeter :

i hope the paint will be hard enough to put it in the car tomorrow but it might have to sit a while .i have tomorrow off as well so i should be able to make the armrest pad .
i ordered a flushmount headlight kit from norms fibreglass .i tried to get a used one through the mall but got no replies .they must work OK if nobody wants to part with a set .

got the new console in the car today .i pre-wired the guages and i was going to hook it all up but it is waaay below freezing right now so finishing it off and getting the new stereo in will have to wait .but at least i am getting to see what it is going to look like .my first attempt at the armrest pad was a flop so that is yet to do .i am thinking about a subwoofer to fancy it up a bit .




beer cans are for demo purposes only .

centre console is finally done .



now i have to figure out how the boost controller works .i hate reading instructions .

since i already had one lame pop up headlight and while have been working on the car this winter the other onecrapped out , i decided to order a set of flush mounts from norms fibreglass .took the old doors off and pulled out the old units .total weight of everything i am not using is around 17 lbs so there should be some weight savings here .

i got some rubber backed carpet squares from wal mart because they looked like they would make a nice arm rest pad for my console .they come in a package of 4 2' X 4' panels so i had enough to also carpet the bottom of my trunk .i took another picture that shows better how my exhaust is now tucked up out of the way where the bottom of my trunk used to be .there is a lot of debate over wether or no to keep the trunk stock or not .with an ecotec the exhaust comes out right where the stock muffler is .so the only way to retain the trunk area is with a custom header setup or a long and convaluted routing over the tranny and back the way the stock piping goes .but when you get back to where the stock muffler used to be there are now pipes in the way so you have to run a tube style muffler and you get the idea .the cleanest looking setup for ecotecs is Roger Thelins header setup that he sells .but it does not allow the use of a cat so i did not go that route .in the picture you can see how much higher the muffler sits above the bottom of the frame .and the cat is hidden above that .i have a layer of foil backed heat insulation under the carpet .it does get hot under the trunk .since the turbo is now bolted direct to the manifold i did not heat wrap any of the piping .

Looking good, I didnt like your center console at first, but now it makes sense and is more practical, itd be very easy to moun a camera on top!

thanks . i think i am going to mount my gps there .along with the new cell phone laws ,the ontario goverment is banning anything that hangs off the windshield .

one thing i have not been happy with is the night lighting of my instrument cluster .in a cavalier with an ecotec , the instruments are led back lit .i have been trying to find which wire turns this feature on (and voltage involved )without success .so i found this LED strip at wal-mart :

it has a self adhesive back allowing me to mount it shining down on the cluster .the old way it was lit was just with some of the old bulbs that light the oem cluster .this worked , but caused too much windshield reflection .this setup should solve the problem :

it is coloured more blue than white .the flash takes the colour away .with the flash off it looks more blue than it really is :

here are some pics of how i mounted the cavalier cluster , i had to cut it down width wise and remove the clear plastic cover .i made a plexi cover that i mounted on some pieces of the old fiero mounts :


the back of the cluster where i screwed it to the fiero cluster surround :

this fiero piece is not re used but i have kept it so i can figure out what wire feeds what :

.i was missing the brake warning light so i added that while i had everything apart . i should have it all back together tomorow .still waiting on my flushmount headlights .

I like it!

Hey wftb have you ever been to any of the SOFA events in and around London? I'd love to have a look at your swap sometime. We're having a dinner March 1st in Kitchener. //www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum1/HTML/074422.html It would be a bit of haul for ya but I'm coming from the Sarnia area. We'd love to have you come out!

Dave

i would really like to hook up with the SOFA group but i work 12 hour rotating shifts and the events just havent lined up with my schedule so far .this summer i will try to take some time off to go to one of the cruises .the dinner i would have been able to make but i will be in mexico....

quote Originally posted by wftb: i would really like to hook up with the SOFA group but i work 12 hour rotating shifts and the events just havent lined up with my schedule so far .this summer i will try to take some time off to go to one of the cruises .the dinner i would have been able to make but i will be in mexico....

Well we look forward to meeting you.

quote Originally posted by wftb: i would really like to hook up with the SOFA group but i work 12 hour rotating shifts and the events just havent lined up with my schedule so far .this summer i will try to take some time off to go to one of the cruises .the dinner i would have been able to make but i will be in mexico....

Need to make an event I am at! Where else could there possibly be TWO EcotecFieros in one place? lol

Im looking at the Charity event in Indianapolis in May right now...

i definitely want to see your car , fosgate .i was hoping to see you at the 25th but i was only there thursday and part of friday .maybe this summer will be better for getting to events but my odds are always against it .i lose two weekends every month to work .

This may be a little late but here is a source for ready made Ecotec Fiero swap parts.
http://www.noidearecords.com/thelinsells/kits.html
Anyone who successfully completes this swap certainly has my respect. IMO it is one of the most difficult Fiero engine swaps to do. Can wait to see how the one featured in the post comes out. Roger Thelin the guy that sells the swap parts, drives an Ecotec Fiero, and I would guess that it took him a long time to figure out everything.
Painless Wiring is also working on a stand alone Ecotec harness so more help is on the way.
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" THE BLACK PARALYZER" -87GT 3800SC Series III engine, 3.4" Pulley, N* TB, LS1 MAF, Flotech Exhaust Autolite 104's Custom CAI 4T65eHD w. custom axles, HP Tuners VCM Suite.
87GT - 3.4L Turbocharged engine, modified TH125H
" ON THE LOOSE WITHOUT THE JUICE "

[This message has been edited by Dennis LaGrua (edited 02-14-2009).]

thanks for the link dennis .i like roger's stuff .my next eco swap will use his shifter kit.i prefer to make my own mounts though .fosgatecavy is making a megasquirt based engine management complete harness and is taking orders now for this product .so , really all the hard stuff can already be bought rather than made up like i did .so i dont think this is that difficult a swap any more .and when i did mine it just didnt seem that hard .i had it running in 6 weeks .i like to think of the fiero as more of a rolling chassis than a complete car .so when i got the entire wiring harness from the cavalier and saw how plug and play everything was , it was a piece of cake to get the car running .i dont believe in getting everything done at once .i like to make the improvements as i go so that the car can be driven more often than not .in the summer i dont do any job that i cant complete in less than a weekend .
it would be nice if roger thelin would do a build thread .i would like to see what he did for wiring .

quote Originally posted by wftb: thanks for the link dennis .i like roger's stuff .my next eco swap will use his shifter kit.i prefer to make my own mounts though .fosgatecavy is making a megasquirt based engine management complete harness and is taking orders now for this product .so , really all the hard stuff can already be bought rather than made up like i did .so i dont think this is that difficult a swap any more .and when i did mine it just didnt seem that hard .i had it running in 6 weeks .i like to think of the fiero as more of a rolling chassis than a complete car .so when i got the entire wiring harness from the cavalier and saw how plug and play everything was , it was a piece of cake to get the car running .i dont believe in getting everything done at once .i like to make the improvements as i go so that the car can be driven more often than not .in the summer i dont do any job that i cant complete in less than a weekend . it would be nice if roger thelin would do a build thread .i would like to see what he did for wiring .

My idea of a Ecotec swap would be one that utilized the stock PCM. I'm not sure how that PCM functions or what the magic is to solving the interface issues but there is aftermarket support for it. I'm sure that you can use a Megasquirt for engine management but you'd have to build all the tables like the VE, AE, MAF, PE from scratch. GM has already done this so if the GM PCM could be suitably trimmed to disable all of the un-necessary functions it should work fine. Don't know if anyone has done this as yet. How is your powertrain management working out?

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" THE BLACK PARALYZER" -87GT 3800SC Series III engine, 3.4" Pulley, N* TB, LS1 MAF, Flotech Exhaust Autolite 104's Custom CAI 4T65eHD w. custom axles, HP Tuners VCM Suite.
87GT - 3.4L Turbocharged engine, modified TH125H
" ON THE LOOSE WITHOUT THE JUICE "

i use the ecm and bcm and all the wiring from the cavalier that my engine and tranny came from .i also have the cavvy fuel pump assembly .i just got rid of the light harness and anything i figured i wouldnt need .i have HP tuners to setup my turbo and get rid of vats .my car runs like it came from the factory , because the electronics running it did come from the factory .but with megasquirt , it would be easier to utilize the stock fiero guages .i use a cavalier guage cluster .

now that i have my changes to the interiour all finished for this year , i am moving on to the front end .the bearing cap fell off of my drivers side front wheel hub sometime during the summer .it caused a slight rattle that i couldnt figure out till i took the wheel off and found the cap sitting in the centre of the wheel .it looked like the wheel sealed everything enough to keep water and crap out but i took it apart to be sure .nothing got inside so i just added a bit of grease and put it back together .but it got me thinking about nicer rotors .there was a thread started about using evo rotors but i am not having much luck finding it .but i took some measurements of my street dreams spindle and hub setup :

centre of hub diameter : 2.40 " stock : 2.28 "
hub overall diameter : 5.25 " 5.48 " with ridge cut off , mine still have a ridge
spindle to hub face : 3.16 " 3.34 "
stock cut down firo spindles :

i dont want bigger rotors (currently 11") . i can stop like a porsche already and i dont want to add unsprung weight .i might try to adapt some wilwood 4 piston calipers .making a mounting braket looks pretty simple .in the meantime if any one knows of any modern cars that use the 5X100 bolt pattern let me know so i can see if they will fit .

A bunch of German cars. Ask BMWguru.

Few I know of: Audi TT, VW Jetta, VW Golf, VW Eos (BMWguru would know the rest of them, and the various rotor/caliper sizes)

I think either the Subaru, or the Mitsu Evolution have a 5x100 bolt pattern as well.
Scion Tc I think has a 5x100 bolt pattern as well.

quote Originally posted by Austrian Import: A bunch of German cars. Ask BMWguru. Few I know of: Audi TT, VW Jetta, VW Golf, VW Eos (BMWguru would know the rest of them, and the various rotor/caliper sizes) I think either the Subaru, or the Mitsu Evolution have a 5x100 bolt pattern as well. Scion Tc I think has a 5x100 bolt pattern as well.

Toyota Celica

Lookin good!
-Paul

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Journal of a concept: http://southeastfieros.com >>> Build Thread >>> Parts thread (for project funding)

i have found quite a few that have the right bolt pattern ,but most of the sites dont list the specs i need before i order .so i found some EBC lebaron rotors (early 90's ) at summit racing part # GD 7217 .these look to be the same as what i have but they are plated and dimpled and slotted .so a big improvement .153.00 for the pair .also for a nice caliper upgrade stainless steel brakes SSB A181 for 409.95 with pads and new bolts .also even nicer powder coated for 519.95 .sot of waffling on this purchase , as what i have now works great .thanks for all the replies .

after investigating further , i found out that chrysler put up to three different sizes of discs on the same vehicle , depending on stock rim size .so i think i have found some that will work.the discs i have now are 11" vented rear discs off one of the lebaron models .i found a part #but no demensions .i am going to adapt a front rotor , wrong offset but i have room to move the bracket .

just wanted to warn everybody that the wagner discs in my post above do not fit the cut down fiero hubs .the centre hole on the disc is too big .they fit my street dreams spindles just right .got the other side on and installed new pads today .

this is the ridge that developed on my old pads :

the new pads sit much much better on the new rotors .i installed a tomtom GPS in the car today .i offset it to the right as i am thinking of getting a different boost controller .the AEM unit is not user friendly at all as far as i am concerned .my turbo does not develop boost unless it is under load so at this point all i know is that it is reading pressure .cant tell if it is actually controlling untill spring time .

hey wftb:

Do you know if all ecotecs have the same bolt pattern? I'm thinking of picking up a 2.4 and doing like you did with the wiring, (ie keeping all the stock stuff) and using roger's kits for the mounts and shifter. Thing is, I'm not sure if the 2.4 came with an F23 stock, or if it didn't, if an F23 would bolt up to a 2.4. Main reason being that Roger's shifter kit is for the F23 and I know the F35 is much more complex to adapt. I know the 2.4 has VVT and drive by wire TB, and I've read somewhere that it has a forged crank but cast rods, but I can't confirm this. Another downside to the 2.4 route is that it's a far less common engine in yards than is the 2.2. As far as I know, only the G5 GT, the non-super Cobalt SS, and the Non-turbo solstice and Sky have this engine, and these are certainly lower volume cars that those that have the 2.2. Heck, they might even be lower volume than the 2.0 liter versions. Any guidance on this?

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Kermit- "So you like your drums huh?"
Animal- "Oh yeah! Mwah Mwah Mwah" (kissing drum set)
Kermit- "Uh huh. More than food, huh?"
Animal- "They ARE food! Eat Drums! Eat Cymbals!" (eating noises)
Kermit- "Hm. How 'cymbal'-ic!"
Animal- (looking abused) "BAD PUN!"

the 2.4 has a better crank and better rods .it was an opton motor in cobalts , i dont think it was ever put in to the cavalier .all ecotecs have the same bolt pattern and share the same architecture IE a 2.4 head will fit a 2.2 , exhaust manifolds interchange etc .most differences are in the oil pans .they vary a lot .if the 2.4 has the f35 then you need the axles that they come with on a cobalt .the stock motor on the cobalt ss model is the 2.4 .the turbo and old super charged motors are/were optional .

Ok so next question: Is that bolt pattern the same for GM's new high-feature V6 engines? The 3.6L DI VVT and such?

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Kermit- "So you like your drums huh?"
Animal- "Oh yeah! Mwah Mwah Mwah" (kissing drum set)
Kermit- "Uh huh. More than food, huh?"
Animal- "They ARE food! Eat Drums! Eat Cymbals!" (eating noises)
Kermit- "Hm. How 'cymbal'-ic!"
Animal- (looking abused) "BAD PUN!"

I run the 2.4L bottom end, with the 2.2L head, One of the big differences with them is the L61 and LE5 ecotecs have a 6 bolt crank for the flywheel, the LSJ (2.0sc) runs a 8 bolt.

I also am using the 2.2L oil pan on my 2.4L, I didnt find any differences.


And no the ecotecs do not share any of the v6 patterns.

Foz- have you noticed in your travels what manual tranny they tend to attach to the 2.4?

------------------
Kermit- "So you like your drums huh?"
Animal- "Oh yeah! Mwah Mwah Mwah" (kissing drum set)
Kermit- "Uh huh. More than food, huh?"
Animal- "They ARE food! Eat Drums! Eat Cymbals!" (eating noises)
Kermit- "Hm. How 'cymbal'-ic!"
Animal- (looking abused) "BAD PUN!"

quote Originally posted by fierodeletre: Foz- have you noticed in your travels what manual tranny they tend to attach to the 2.4?

I believe its the same as the 2.2s

Actually all the motors ive looked at for ecotec stuff have all been autos

the 2.0 motors have different oil pans .i have been waiting on parts to get back on the road now that it has mostly stopped snowing and the salt trucks are not out as much .i needed to rebuild my steering rack . i took it all apart and got the parts from rodney dickman .not a fun job but i had developed slop on the passenger side that caused jumping around on rough roads .i made a removal / install tool with some 3/4 rod , two nuts and two washers .you have to round off the one nut with a grinder so it will fit inside the rack tube .once you do that you slip it in where thepinion sits and slide the rod in and thread it on .then put the two washers on the rod at the bearing end and tighten until the bushing pops loose .to install the new bearing just get it started by hand and then slide the full size nut up against it and put the washers and the rounded nut (or a normal nut , i should have bought 3 ) at the pinion end and tighten untill the bearing hits tight to the shoulder inside the rack tube .here are some pictures that explain this i hope .i am sure someone makes a puller but i dont have one .




so the rack is now back on the car and it is ready to drive again as soon as i put the wheels back on .but i am still waiting on my flushmounts from norms fibreglass .he said he would get them to me before april so they should show up soon .

i got the steering rack back on and took it for a ride to day .it ran pretty good but the boost controller operated eratically .i tried a bunch of times to set it up according to the instructions but every time the boost levels were unpredictable .so i removed the solinoid from the line that goes from the charge pipe to the waste gate and replaced it with a straight hose .now max boost will be 8 psi but it should be fairly steady and not spike like i was seeing .so my boost controller is now just an expensive guage .oh well it does look nice .

with the turbo now back to its stock configuration the boost guage now shows 10.75 psi of boost maximum .since i was planning on running a max of 12 psi , i am going to leave it the way it is and not bother with a different boost controller .with the new intake and charge piping system i am running now the boost builds very quickly from 2000 rpm in top gear .from a standstill the boost is there as soon as you punch it .so i am happy with the power level .scans show everything working pretty good , a little KR but i am not too worried about that .i am going to look at my old tune and lean it out a bit on the PE table .with the FMU upping the fuel pressure under boost i dont need the computer enriching it too .i need a wide band O2 , that is going to be my next purchase .it will hook up to my HP tuners interface .